RED HUE IN ROCKVILLE TOWN SQUARE CLOSED UNTIL TUESDAY FOR MAKEOVER (PHOTOS)

Red Hue boutique in Rockville Town Square will be closed until tomorrow for renovations.

ROCKVILLE TOWN SQUARE ICE RINK OPENS TONIGHT! (PHOTOS)

Tonight is the grand opening of the ice rink at Rockville Town Square, and you're invited to the celebration.

The evening gets underway at 6:00 PM, with the Lloyd Dobler Effect performing live. After 7:00, you'll be able to meet a Washington Capitals player fondly remembered from the regrettably-now-demolished Capital Centre years, Alan May. Of course, May is today known for his hockey TV appearances, even if viewers weren't old enough to have seen him play.

Also after 7:00, meet the Capitals Red Rockers (the hockey version of cheerleaders), and Tommy McFly of 94.7 Fresh FM.

There will also be prizes, professional skating performances, and, finally, your own opportunity to lace up the skates and take to the home ice yourself.

To get you ready for the big night, here are some behind-the-scenes photos of the rink being assembled:

DUBALL ROCKVILLE TOWN CENTER CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here is the latest construction progress on the first Duball tower at Rockville Town Center. As you can see, building has well passed street level at this point.

This tower will contain luxury apartments, and a 140-room Cambria Suites hotel.

Meanwhile, developer Duball, LLC has submitted an application to the Rockville planning department asking permission to increase the number of apartments in the future second tower from 222 to 400. This will be achieved by simply making the apartments smaller, which Duball claims is better suited to today's market.

Aside from changing the potential number of residents and vehicles at the site, it would also bring the total number of residential units to 663. Add in at least 140 hotel guests, many with rental cars, to the equation as well.

The matter is scheduled to come before the Rockville Planning Commission at its November 13 meeting, at 7:00 PM at City Hall (and broadcast live on Channel 11).

ROCKVILLE ELECTION RESULTS ANALYSIS

With the 2013 Rockville Mayor and Council election results in, we know who won. But why did they win, and what messages are the voters sending to government through their choices?

There are no exit polls, and we don't have much information about what parts of the city most actively turned out to vote. But we can draw some preliminary conclusions today:

1. Rockville voters prize comity over policy.

Just about all we heard about during the final weeks of the election was the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. And turnout at a public hearing on that issue was large, organized, and just about unanimously opposed to altering the APFO. But yesterday, voters elected only one candidate who aligns with that position, new mayor Bridget Newton. Is that a contradiction?

On paper, yes. But many in Rockville have been critical of the ongoing squabbling between factions during Mayor and Council meetings. A high profile example of diplomacy trumping policy is former mayor Jim Coyle.

Coyle, a highly-regarded leader in the city, was arguably one of the most effective speakers opposing the high-density, mixed-use draft Rockville Pike plan in 2011. But in the election, he endorsed Team Rockville, which favors more growth on the Pike than its independent challengers did. This is a contradiction. However, Coyle has been outspoken in his belief that the city worked better when it elected slates that had general agreement on broad issues. The results suggest a number of voters agreed with Coyle.

2. East Rockville may have been a factor.

East Rockville, like Twinbrook, has been taking the brunt of development side effects, and not getting a lot of attention from politicians. It is also an area seeing an increase in young professionals. Those two trends might be among several reasons Julie Palakovich Carr received the most votes. As she mentioned in the debates, residents of East Rockville are displeased about a number of issues. Displeased voters vote. Politically-engaged young professionals likely saw Palakovich Carr as someone like them: of a newer generation, but wanting to be actively involved in the city. And she was very effective in bringing up practical issues like crime and rat control in East Rockville during the debates.

3. Among voters who did their homework on the candidates, a majority favored denser, urban-style growth for Rockville.

Was it that pro-development voters turned out in greater numbers? There is a contradiction to that, in that they elected a mayor who does not favor that type of growth. But with a 3 vote majority carrying on all issues, Mayor-Elect Newton will face a challenge in stopping it. Palakovich Carr and Virginia Onley, in particular, expressed some reservations about the Rockville Pike Plan during the debates, suggesting they did not entirely share their Team Rockville colleagues' growth agenda. If they hold to that independent streak, there could be room for Newton to reach compromises on height, density and other provisions. But, if you are a developer, you have to be feeling fairly good about the election results this morning.

4. Start early, or form a slate.

The only thing more embarrassing than the low turnout was the lack of candidates running. Don Hadley and Claire Marcuccio felt compelled to enter the race late, knowing they were at a disadvantage, because they could not believe no one else besides Team Rockville was running. The fact that Hadley was just about 80 votes short of winning the fourth seat suggests that he would have won if he had had more time. He had not planned to run, of course, so it was not poor planning on his part. But it is a good example for any candidate who sat out this time, that someone favoring more responsible growth can win if they have sufficient time to make the case with voters.

And if slates remain in favor, it may be necessary to form them to win.

5. Voters want Newton to be a check on Team Rockville.

Newton does not have the votes to stop a 4-1 decision. But the mayor does have power to control the agenda, steer policy, and make appointment nominations. This means that, for example, Newton can continue to fill Planning Commission vacancies over the next two years with residents who share her principles on development and growth.

The ballot question results also speak to voters sending a nuanced message: Yes, we want you to have more time in office, but we want active, engaged voters to have their voices heard in off-year elections.

6. There's much we won't know until this council begins work November 18.

Is it really a 4-1 split? Will independent thoughts, and the message voters have sent about cooperation, allow for alliances to form on various issues? My guess would be that it's possible. Citizens will be the best judge, and will play an important role at Citizens Forum and during public hearings, in communicating their concerns and priorities to the new Mayor and Council. This has certainly been the most across-the-board qualified group of candidates to run - to a person - in my time following Rockville politics. So, it will be interesting to see how the dynamics play out over the next 2 years.

WOMEN TAKE OVER IN ROCKVILLE - ROCKVILLE ELECTION 2013

Complete 2013 Rockville Election results: Click here

During the recent federal government shutdown, some argued that electing more women to Congress would end its legislative gridlock. But can electing more women to the Rockville city council have the same effect on a body recently criticized for bickering between factions? The city is about to find out.

No public list of past councilmembers is available online, as best I can tell. But the next Mayor and Council certainly contains the highest number of women members (4) in my recollection, if not in the history of Rockville. Voters yesterday chose a woman (Bridget Newton) as mayor for the third consecutive time since Mayor Larry Giammo left office. And the top votegetter in the council race was a woman, as well (Julie Palakovich Carr).

Tom Moore will be the sole male elected official in Rockville for this term of office.

ROCKVILLE ELECTION RESULTS: NEWTON, TEAM ROCKVILLE SLATE WIN

Rockville voters chose councilmember Bridget Newton as their new mayor tonight, and decisively backed the agenda of the Team Rockville slate, electing all 4 members to the city council. Only 40226 city voters chose to participate in voting Tuesday, marking a low 16% turnout.

Julie Palakovich Carr received the most council votes with 4308,  (18.7%), a strong showing that placed her ahead of fellow winners Virginia Onley, incumbent Tom Moore, and Beryl Feinberg.

Don Hadley finished only 88 votes behind Feinberg, and Claire Marcuccio Whitaker had the least votes.

MAYOR

√Newton 53.06% 3508 votes
  Pierzchala 46.68% 3086

COUNCIL

√Palakovich Carr 18.7% 4308
√Onley 17.60% 4063
√Moore 17.47% 4035
√Feinberg 16.01% 3698
  Hadley 15.63% 3610
  Whitaker 13.72% 3167

Expand Mayor & Council terms to 4 years?

√Yes 53.54% 3548
  No 42.98% 2848
  No opinion 3.49% 231

Hold Rockville elections in presidential election years?

  Yes 41.91% 2767
√No 53.47% 3530
  No opinion 4.62% 305

Expand council seats from 4 to 6?

  Yes 42.91% 2843
√No 50.49% 3345
  No opinion 6.60% 437

Rockville Nights will have analysis of the election results later today (it's officially Wednesday right now).

FORMER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER ENDORSES NEWTON, HADLEY, WHITAKER IN ROCKVILLE ELECTION

Former Montgomery County School Board member Laura Berthiaume has released a letter strongly endorsing Bridget Newton for mayor, and Don Hadley and Claire Marcuccio Whitaker for city council, in today's Rockville election.

Berthiaume also provides a detailed analysis she says proves that keeping the city's strong Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) in place - as the three candidates she endorsed have promised to do - will not prevent schools from being built in the future.

Recent attempts to weaken the APFO have been presented to suggest the ordinance was responsible for Montgomery County Public Schools not adding school facilities in Rockville. Berthiaume's provided evidence demonstrates that the APFO was not to blame in any of those instances. Rather, other issues at the county level interfered, Berthiaume writes.

Instead, Berthiaume argues strongly for keeping the APFO guidelines in place to prevent even more overcrowding in Rockville public schools. She says that Rockville Pike development will add
4-6000 new units alone. By 2016, Julius West Middle School will have more students than many small colleges, she notes.

"Do you want to see our sole middle school handling 1,800 or more students by 2020?," Berthiaume asks fellow voters in her letter.  "Please ask yourselves that question as you go in to vote [today]."

"It seems to me that one set of candidates [Team Rockville slate] favors essentially unlimited residential construction along 355, no matter the impact on our schools, while three excellent candidates will protect our Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) standards," she writes.

Her letter concludes:

"If you care about our children --or if you are just the sort of person who doesn't want to live in Crystal City - and never did - I ask you to please go out [today] and vote for Bridget Newton for Mayor, and Don Hadley and Claire Whitaker for Council."

Whitaker has also been endorsed by Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, Senator Jennie Forehand, and Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz.